We’re all on a quest to understand more about life—and so we write. We write about unrequited love, the Civil War, superorganisms, penalty kicks, global warming, bluebird feathers, Arab literature, anime, nuclear waste, neurotransmitters, game theory, Black Arts, modern democracies, LGBTQ+ cinema and more. We write not only to share our views, we write to be part of the solution.
“Beethoven’s Diving Board”
“The piano is in the center of the house, and sitting down to play feels like jumping off a diving board: jittery and exposed, but the enclosing oblivion of the deep-end waiting just one leap away. All I want to do is dive into the irrelevance of a long dead German and the expansive songs he heard in his head. Nothing, these days, is more attractive to me than the anachronism of Beethoven, his complete ignorance of pandemic or apocalypse.”
Fiona Ellsworth ’20
English
Washington, D.C.
The Best in Contemporary Writing
The Kenyon Review is one of America’s most revered literary magazines, publishing breakthrough work by prize-winning authors and daring new voices.
The Gatekeepers
Kenyon Review associates pore over literary submissions for promising works.
Find your outlet.
Students contribute their ideas and perspectives to more than a dozen publications, from literary and political journals to blogs.
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HIKA
Kenyon's oldest undergraduate literary publication HIKA allows students to share their voices while growing invaluable editing and publishing skills.
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Lyceum
Dreamed up by a group of naturally curious students, Lyceum is a creative science community that encourages us to share, explore and discuss our fascinations about the natural world.
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Collegian Magazine
The award-winning Collegian Magazine publishes long-form articles about Kenyon politics, culture and history, as well as photo essays, interviews and memoir pieces.
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A Medio Camino
Written and produced solely by Kenyon students, A Medio Camino empowers Spanish-speaking voices on our campus, shining a light on issues that affect the Latinx community.
Featured Courses
Science Writing
From Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” to Oliver Sacks’ “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” popular science writing brings important questions to wider public attention. In this course, you'll analyze essays that combine literary and scientific merit and learn to present scientific information in highly readable form.
Software Development
Do you see the world in code? In this course, you'll gain experience in designing, implementing, testing and debugging software. Using C++, Javascript and other languages, you'll craft quality code, develop user-friendly interfaces and build multicomponent architectures.
Image and Word: Writing About Art
Art history is an object-focused field, based on a dichotomy of the ethereal and material, subject to many different types of writing and with an elusive mystery at its core regarding the nature of the visual arts and creativity. This course is a chance to expand your knowledge of the many modes of writing about art.
Writing the Television Pilot
What makes for a good TV show and how do you get it on the air? From pilot to plot development to pitch, you'll explore what it takes to produce a successful script for television using award-winning shows like “Girls,” “Homeland” and “The Office" as backdrops.
In a recent survey, 100 percent of young alumni say they learned to write more effectively at Kenyon.
Graduates of our renowned English program go on to excel in writing careers. It's not unusual for our alums to make repeat appearances on The New York Times’ bestseller lists or find success in the publishing industry. Kenyon’s own E.L. Doctorow ’52 once said that Kenyon does poetry like Ohio State does football. He's not wrong. Explore new releases from members of the Kenyon community.